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{
    "id": 714937,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/714937/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 192,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Mulu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1955,
        "legal_name": "Benson Makali Mulu",
        "slug": "benson-makali-mulu"
    },
    "content": "When you analyse this important document against the legal requirements in terms of what the Constitution says; in terms of what the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act 2012 says; and in terms of what the regulation says, you will realise that the National Treasury has never scored 100 per cent of what is expected of them for the last three years we have been receiving this document. They normally score between 70 and 80 per cent. Since this is just a framework of a document to be prepared, the National Treasury should work hard to meet the expectations of the legal framework. I want to start by addressing the issue of budget deficit. Just as the Chairman has put it, any time you see a budget deficit, it automatically means it will trigger a borrowing process. The Government will be expected to borrow either domestically or from external sources. What will happen is that, as we continue borrowing, the whole concept of public debt becomes an issue of concern. Many times, in this House, we have said that even though the international indicators show that Kenya is still in the safe zone, we need to continue being very careful with our public debt. Hon. Speaker, we are now talking about a deficit of about Kshs6.4 million. Just as the Chairman of the Committee has said, when you look at the East African Monetary Union Protocol in terms of fiscal management of our resources, we are expected to move to about 3 per cent in the year 2021. Kenya cannot be a country which has targeted to move there when we start going upwards instead of downwards. I agree and support the recommendation that this year, we put a ceiling of a maximum of 6 per cent in terms of our Budget deficit. That will help our country, so that next year, we can go to 4 per cent, so that by the time we hit 2021, we will be at about 2 per cent, which will be good for this county. The other thing is the issue of public debt concerning the Treasury single account. We have multiple accounts where public funds are deposited and at times the country ends up borrowing money from commercial banks which have money deposited by other public institutions."
}